KTVB
KTVB is an NBC-affiliated television station licensed to Boise, Idaho, United States. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on virtual and VHF channel 7 from a transmitter at the Bogus Basin ski area summit in unincorporated Boise County. Owned by Tegna Inc., KTVB has studios on West Fairview Avenue (off I-184) in Boise. The station also operates a low-power repeater in Twin Falls, KTFT-LD (UHF channel 20, also remapped to virtual channel 7 via PSIP), the programming for which originates from the KTVB studios. The two signals are identical, with the exception of commercials, which are sold and targeted to the Magic Valley area. KTFT's transmitter is located on Flat Top Butte near Jerome, Idaho. History The station, Idaho's oldest, signed on July 12, 1953, as KIDO-TV. Along with radio station KIDO, it was originally owned by Georgia Davidson, who was one of only three female station owners in the NBC network including Dorothy Bullitt of future sister station KING-TV in Seattle. Davidson sold KIDO radio in 1959 but kept KIDO-TV, which she renamed KTVB on February 1. KTVB has always been a primary NBC affiliate. After KBOI-TV (channel 2, CBS) signed on in November 1953, the two stations briefly shared secondary DuMont affiliations, and shared secondary ABC affiliations until KITC (channel 6) signed on in 1974. Before PBS member KAID-TV (channel 4) signed on in December 1971, KTVB pre-empted the second hour of the Today Show to carry Sesame Street without commercials on weekday mornings. In the early 1960s, KTVB built a satellite station in La Grande, Oregon. KTVR-TV (channel 13) went on the air December 6, 1964, as a semi-satellite of KTVB, but had a La Grande studio at 1605 Adams Ave., producing a nightly newscast and other local programming. However, by 1967, the La Grande studio and office had been closed and KTVR was a total satellite of KTVB. KTVR was unique in the Pacific Time Zone because as a repeater of a Mountain Time Zone station, its "prime-time" schedule was broadcast from 6 to 9 p.m. PT, two hours early. OEPBS (now Oregon Public Broadcasting) bought KTVR on August 31, 1976, and converted it to PBS programming on February 1, 1977. Philo Farnsworth, the father of television and an Idaho native, was present as the station signed on the air. During KTVB's fiftieth year celebration, the tag line "the first television station in the state where TV was invented" was used in some promotional announcements. In 1979, KTVB was sold to the Bullitts' King Broadcasting Company, joining KING-TV in Seattle, KREM-TV in Spokane, and KGW-TV in Portland, as part of King Broadcasting. In 1992, the company was sold to the Providence Journal Company, which was later sold to Belo Corp. in 1997. At the end of October 2003, KTVB launched 24/7 NewsChannel on KTVB-DT2, one of the first digital secondary subchannels in the nation. The subchannel's programming initial consisted of time-shifted newscasts plus five other programs not on its main channel. Plans for the independent news format subchannel is for original news programs and local programming. KTVB has branched out into non-traditional areas, such as its free "Idaho Classifieds" project on the ZIdaho website. KTVB is no longer affiliated with ZIdaho as of January, 2013. In August 2011, KTVB became the first station in Boise to broadcast its entire weekday schedule in high definition. By fall 2011, the station had rebranded its 24/7 NewsChannel as "Idaho's Very Own 24/7" while revamping the 6:30 p.m. newscast and the morning news at 7 a.m. added additional features. On June 13, 2013, the Gannett Company announced that it would acquire Belo. The sale was completed on December 23. On September 24, 2014, KTVB announced that they would switch to the Gannett graphics package and "This is Home" music package on September 28, 2014. The station's multicast channels, Idaho's Very Own 24/7 and NWCN, were moved to the basic plan on Cable One system on August 27, 2013. Northwest Cable News was replaced with the Justice Network on subchannel 7.3 on January 20, 2015. NWCN would shut down almost two years later, on January 6, 2017. On June 29, 2015, the Gannett Company split in two, with one side specializing in print media and the other side specializing in broadcast and digital media. KTVB was retained by the latter company, named Tegna. Category:NBC affiliated stations Category:Channel 7 Category:Boise Category:Jerome Category:Twin Falls Category:Idaho Category:Television channels and stations established in 1953 Category:1953 Category:Former DuMont Affiliates Category:Former ABC affiliates Category:Tegna, Inc. Category:VHF Category:NBC Idaho Category:Justice Network Affiliates Category:Quest Affiliates Category:1959